


Ouran Host Chef

by Grave_Watcher



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-08-09
Packaged: 2018-11-03 01:30:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10956876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grave_Watcher/pseuds/Grave_Watcher
Summary: Ouran Academy. A prestigious school for the rich and popular. And you, unfortunately, are enrolled there. You say it’s unfortunate because it was never your choice to even be here. There was one little accident that wasn’t even your fault in a club that threatened you to join them, and here you are. You never thought you would be the personal chef for the Ouran High School Host Club, and you never would’ve thought you would fall for one of the Hosts along the way.(I do not own Ouran Host Club. All Original characters belong to the creators.)





	1. Journey to Ouran Academy!

You stood, frowning as you gazed up at the large building. _Oh, God. Why am I here?_

Ouran High School. A place for young billionaires from filthy rich families to spend their free time. Anyone else is simply lucky enough to attend.

_I don’t want to be near any of these people. This is the last place I want to be right now._

Your nose twitched from annoyance. _And yet, here I am._

With a heavy sigh, you began climbing the staircase that led to the main entering doors of the school. The door creaked open as you peered inside. 

_Huh…The halls are empty._

You stepped inside and the door shut behind you. You hummed in thought as you walked towards one end of the hall. 

_Where is everybody? It’s so quiet in here._

You peered through the Windows as you walked. _Class isn’t in session…so where can they be?_

_Ugh, come on, it’s got to be around here somewhere!_

You soon reached the end of the hall and came faced with a winding staircase that led to the next floor up. You stared up at it and shrugged, before starting upwards.

As you walked up the steps, you adjusted the strap on your shoulder for what felt like the 100th time. _This is starting to hurt. Who orders this much food anyways?_

You turned the corner, and stopped when you saw a large door with a sign above it marked as ‘Music Room #3’.

You watched in curiosity as a girl who bared a strange resemble to a boy was about to open the door to The room. You silently walked up behind her.

“Excuse me…!”

She jumped and swung around. Your eyes widened as the last thing you saw was the cover of ugly duckling closing in on your face, before there was only black.

As you fell to the floor, the girl stepped forward. “Oh! Sorry, are you okay?” She looked down at your unconscious body. “Hello? Hey- ah!”

She wasn’t looking where she stepped and her foot tripped over the spilled contents of the bag. She shrieked as she fell backwards and her weight had pushed the door that was behind her open.

She groaned and looked up. What she saw made her eyes widen behind her glasses as the doors slammed behind her.

**< ><><><><><><><><><>**

“Ow! Ow, ow, ow, ow! My head!” You awoke to a searing pain in your head. You slowly sat up as you rubbed your forehead and you realized you were on the floor. You sighed as you crawled over to your bag and scooped all the items into the bag.

“No, man, she’s gonna kill me!” You stood up and looked inside the bag. “All right, calm down, none of the food spilled, it should be fine.” 

“Well…hopefully…” You slid the strap over your shoulder and something came to mind. “Great, I still don’t even know where it is.” You groaned and turned around, then stopped your movements.

For a good minute, you just stared at the door across from you that said 'Headmaster’s office’ and then, you slapped your forehead. “Are you serious? It was here the entire time?! Ugh!”

You had to deeply sigh, before you adjusted your cap and walked over to the door. Not wasting another minute, you knocked on it and it was a little harder than you meant for it to be. “Please be in here, please be in here.”

Breathing out in relief, the door opened and you came face-to-face with who you assumed was the headmaster. You smiled at her. “Hi. Delivery for Ouran Academy?”

**< ><><><><><><><><>><>**

You walked down the steps that led to the entrance while counting the bills in your hand.

“127…128…129…130! Yes! Now I can actually get her some new clothes for Saturday.”

You folded up the money and tucked it into a small pocket in the bag. You found yourself stopping to look back at the school. “Well, guess this is goodbye.” You used two fingers to salute the large building. “So long, Ouran Academy.”

“Waah! Haah! Takashi, where are you?!”

You jumped back at the loud crying that echoed out in the air. “Woah. What was that?”

You walked around the school and found the source of the crying. There was a little boy on the ground, crying his eyes out. And he was sucking his thumb.

“Hey there, are you okay?”

He looked back at you and that’s when you saw the tears in his eyes. “I-I hurt my finger!”

“Aw, it’s okay.” You walked over and knelt down to him, then offered your hands.

“Hey, let me see. Come on.”

He hesitantly showed me his thumb, that had a small cut across it. “Oh, its just a little paper cut. Here.” You reached into your pocket and felt around, until you pulled out a band aid. “I’m gonna make it all better, okay?”

His crying came to a stop as you wrapped the band aid around his injured thumb. He watched you kiss it afterwards and it made a blush come on his cheeks.

You looked up at him and smiled. “There. Feel better?”

He glanced down at his thumb as the pain slowly went away, then looked up at you with wide eyes filled in awe. “Who are you?”

Your smile stretched.“ I’m-”

“Mitsukuni. There you are.”

You looked up and that’s when you noticed the large teenager towering over the both of you. You felt your heart drop at the sight of him. Not by his looks, but he looked pretty intimidating.

The boy turned around and a huge smile spread on his face. “Takashi! Where were you?”

The guy named Takashi looked down at him and his eyes widened. He knelt down and examined the band aid on his thumb. “You were hurt. What happened?”

The boy looked at it. “Oh, I cut my thumb on a piece of paper I was drawing on.”

Takashi’s gaze swept over the boy in a hard look. “What have I told you about drawing on those sharply cut papers? You can’t be so careless all the time."

"I’m sorry.” His eyes looked again over to you. “But she made me feel better.”

Takashi’s eyes slowly shifted to you and your heart stopped. By his penetrating stare, you quickly stood up and began stumbling over your words.

“U-Uh, well, he was crying out and I-I just happened to be close by and, uh…”

Takashi stood up with the boy in his arms and continued to stare at you.

You bowed your head to him, mostly just to avoid his eyes, though. “Um, my name is Mei Kitahara. I didn’t mean to intrude. I’ll just be going now…”

You began stepping back and quickly turned around, determined to get to your car.

“Mei.”

Your entire form froze  and you cursed to yourself as you hesitantly looked back.

“Uh, yeah?”

Takashi didn’t say anything else, but he bowed his head at me, then turned around and began walking away with the boy on his shoulders. The boy looked back at me and waved with a smile.

“Bye, Mei-Chan! Oh, and everyone calls me Honey!”

You gave a small wave as they disappeared into the sunset.

That’s when your smile dropped. “Wait, sunset? What the hell? Ugh, I got to get home!”

You turned around and began running towards your truck. You reached inside your bag and fumbled with your keys. “Dammit, she’s gonna kill me!”

You managed to get the door open and start the engine. Your foot stomped on the gas pedal and you floored it down the road. Your truck disappeared in a cloud of dust.


	2. Starting Today, You Are A Chef!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mei is caught in between a brother rivalry and accidentally destroys all of the Host Club’s food supply; unable to pay for the cost, Mei is recruited as the Host Club’s new chef under a set of agreements.

You awoke to soft sheets, and the morning light trickled in through the blinds. Shedding yourself of the remaining glimpses of a dream, your eyes were still shut as you soaked in the warmth of your covers before letting your E/C eyes see the sun's rays.

Hesitantly, you managed to sit your body upright.

A yawn escaped you as you slowly began to fall back on the bed. 

"Mei!"

You snorted as you sat back up. "Huh? Y-yeah?"

"You better be awake, we got several orders to deliver this morning!"

You waved a hand at the voice as you lay back down on the mattress. 

"Yeah, yeah. I'm awake! I've been up for...hours..."

"Mei?"

***snore***

"Mei! I'm not gonna tell you gain! Get in here here now!"

“Pouah!” You scoffed, rolling over in your slovenly sheets as the sunlight hissed at your face. Your disheveled, dark purple strands were scattered across your pillow, and every breath you exhaled smelled faintly of ammonia and eviscerated, decomposing corpses. 

"And brush your teeth! I don't want to bio hazard the kitchen every time you open your mouth in the morning."

"Hey, it's not that bad!"

"Mm-hmm. Hurry up!"

You were muttering under your breath as you sat up. Glancing around your room, you noticed a messy assortment of notebooks filled with cooking recipes, freshly-sharpened pencils, a pint of ice cream hidden under your bed that was half gone and other stationery items that gave you a great aesthetic pleasure. Slowly but surely, you pushed yourself out of bed, letting your feet hit the cool, linoleum floor.

**< ><><><><><><><><><><><><><>**

Her nails impatiently tapped on the kitchen counter as stared at her watch. After a few seconds, she sighed.

"All right. That's it."

She reached over and picked up the remote beside her. She waited a few seconds more, then pressed the middle button.

**< ><><><><><><><><><><><><><>**

Your head lifted up when you heard a beep come from your boombox, along with a green light that began flashing.

"What the...?"

**< ><><><><><><><><><><><><><>**

Muffled sounds of music bursting came from upstairs, followed by a yell and a thud.

"Okay, Okay! I'm up!"

She smiled in satisfaction and pressed the top button. The muffled music ceased and she resumed her work of mixing the flour continuously.

Heavy stomping sounded and when they stopped in the same room, she looked up, smiling.

"Good morning, Sweet Pea. Sleep well?"

You were frowning, hair sticking up in all directions and tired bags beneath your eyes.

"That was not cool."

She shook her head. "You know how early we get up, so don't even think about fighting me. You have a lot of orders to deliver."

You groaned as you rested your chin on the kitchen counter. "Can I have breakfast first? And coffee? At least give me coffee!"

You flinched when she slammed a box in front of you. You looked up and turned it around. And you whined by seeing 'instant coffee' as the label.

"I have to make it? That's not fair!"

She bent her fingers and flicked you on the forehead.

"Ow!" You rubbed where she flicked you and glared at her. "Hey! What was-"

"Go shower and get dressed. I'll have something out for you with your coffee."

You smiled. "Really? Thank you!"

You threw your arms around her and she patted your head. "You’re the best, you know that?"

When you opened your mouth, she hacked and turned away.

"And brush your teeth, oh!"

She pushed you off of her and didn't see when you took one of the special oatmeal raisin cookies. You turned around and discretely took a bite.

Before talking, you swallowed. "So, what is my first destination, boss?"

You took another chunk out of the cookie as she packed the bag with several boxes of freshly made goods.

"That Academy you went to last week. Remember? Ouran."

Your feet stopped, earning a squeaking sound against the kitchen floor.

The pieces of the chewed up cookie fell from your dropped jaw as you looked back at her. "What?"

* * *

**< ><><><><><><><><><><><><><>**

You stood, biting your lip in nervousness as you looked up at the familiar large building.  _Okay, Mei. Let's get this over with._

Taking a deep inhale through your nose, you stomped up the stairs, and by remembering the way to the office, moved fast through the hallways that surprisingly had numerous students flooding the long walkways.

There were a number of girls that not-so-discretely stole glances at you, then whispered and giggled, thinking you couldn't here them. One or two guys looked you over, but were not interested in the least at the girl who was not wearing a large, poofy yellow dress like all the other rich girls.

Nope, all they saw was a girl wearing slacks, a red shirt covered in flour, and a red cap with your company logo on it that hid your face from view and kept your ponytail in place.

When you were going up the stairs, you had to shimmy past a group of girls who were gossiping on the steps. And once you barely brushed up against one of them, one of the girls looked at her shoulder in disgust and wiped some of the flour off.

Muttering an apology under your breath, you hurried a little faster just so get by without anymore glares of disgust and finish your job. You rounded a corner and went straight up to the same door as last time that read  **'Headmaster's office'** and you breathed out to calm your nerves. Taking another deep breath, you rose your fist to knock, but that was right when the door swung ope.

Out of fear from the last time, you leaned backwards, expecting a book to come towards you, but instead you were met with the surprised and frantic eyes of the headmaster.

Smiling, you patted the bag. "Morning! Delivery for Ouran?"

What you weren't expecting was for her to sigh with an eye roll as she looked back at someone in the room. "Rikako! Why didn't you tell me they ordered more food?"

"They ordered last minute, the vice president just called me a few minutes ago. Sorry."

She scoffed and turned back to you. "Sorry, miss..."

"Oh! Mei Kitahara, miss headmaster."

"Kitahara. I actually have somewhere I need to be and am running late. I hope you're fine with delivering the food directly to the club."

_The club? I thought this was all for the school?_

"Uh..."

"Great." Without giving me a chance to answer, she slammed the door and began running down the hall.

"W-wait! I don't even know where-"

"Ahhh! Haruhi!"

The loud scream of several girls made you stop and turn around. An entire swarm of rich girls were holding on to one of the males, who looked very clueless as to what was happening as he clutched a shopping bag full of groceries.

_Tch. What is with these girls? You'd think they'd have a little more class._

You started walking away, but you noticed something as you did. Weird. That guy looks really familiar. Looking closer as your feet continued to move, you saw the book that was tucked inside the grocery bag.

_Flashback..._

_"Excuse me...!"_

_She jumped and swung around. Your eyes widened as the last thing you saw was the cover of ugly duckling closing in on your face, before there was only black._

You felt your eyes widen. "It's that gir-"

***slam***

Feeling your face smash into the wall, that last letter was muffled into the hard surface. You placed your hands on it and pushed away. Unfortunately, as soon as you did, your tongue began throbbing behind your hurt teeth and your vision became fuzzy.

"Grrrrillll."

You watched the wall roll back until you were seeing the ceiling. You barely felt the floor and your back collide with it.

_That...hurt..._

"Oh my god!"

"Is she okay?!"

***groan***

"Is everything okay?"

"It's all right ladies, please, let us handle this."

"Why don't we give our lovely princess here a little space, hm?"

"What...who said that...?"

The fuzziness was beginning to go away, but you swore you were seeing double as two cute guys towered over you with faces of concern.

"Kaoru, let's remove that cap and see her face."

Moving your head from side to side as a way to stop the forming headache, you felt your cap slide off and your hair was freed. As soon as the shield was gone, a bright light invaded your eyes and face.

Shaking your head a bit harder, you squinted them shut. Slowly, as you opened them again, you made out two identical looking faces. And the were studying you like an insect.

Then, at the same time, their eyes widened and they gasped. 

Simultaneously, they said "Butterfly?!"

You sucked your teeth in pain as you put your palm to your forehead. "Ah, man, not again."

The feeling of two pairs of hands shaking your shoulders made you look back to the two boys, who had been the ones shaking you.

"Mei?!"

"It's really you!"

"What?" You were staring at them in confusion.  _How do they know my name?_

They ceased shaking you as one of the boys gasped dramatically. "Oh, Hikaru. I don't think she recognizes us."

Instinctively, you looked to the other one.  _Hikaru...? Wait. Then...that must mean the other one is..._

You looked back to the first one.

"Kaoru, don't be ridiculous, how could our beloved butterfly not remember us?"

You rose up a finger and pointed at the one on the left. "kaoru?" You moved the finger over to the one on the the right. "And Hikaru? Hitachiin?"

In just a few seconds, large smiles appeared on their faces.

Hikaru wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you up while crushing you in a side hug. "See! I told you she would remember us!"

Kaoru also wrapped an arm around your shoulders from the opposite side. "Oh, yeah! Sorry for doubting you!"

You kept the bag of food in your clutches as you looked between them in confusion.

Hikaru glanced at you, then clasped his hand into Kaoru's. "Kaoru, we should bring her to the club! Everyone should meet her!"

Kaoru's smile grew bigger as he hugged you tighter. "Yes! I agree!"

Your eyes went wide when they started pushing you towards a room down the hall.

"W-wait! I appreciate, I do, but I actually have to be somewhere ri-"

You winced when Kaoru pinched your cheek. "Aw, look Hikaru, she's nervous!"

Hikaru pulled the bag from your hands and slung it over his shoulder, despite your protests. 

"That's not it! Come on guys, I don't have time for-"

"Don't worry, Mei." He slung his other arm around your neck. "We won't let any of them get to you."

At the same time, they cheered. "You can count on us!"

You sighed as Kaoru reached for the handle on the door. Looking up, you realized the room you were about to enter.

_Music Room #3?_

Remembering the familiar location, you glanced back at the headmaster's office in confirmation. The door opened up. And the boys wasted no time in running inside and announcing your entrance.

"Hey, everyone!"

You glared at Kaoru, who hollered throughout the room of girls. They all stopped what they were doing and all attention was directed at you. Your cheeks grew red with embarrassment.

Hikaru slapped your shoulders, causing you to jump. "Come on, we want you to meet someone special!"

Your head snapped to him. "Hikaru!"

He only smirked at your embarrassment. "Don't be so shy, butterfly."

A disappointing sigh rang out as you heard footsteps come towards the three of you.

"Honestly, what is wrong with you both? You're disrupting our guests."

Hikaru smiled, but didn't look at all regretful. "Sorry, boss. We brought a real special old friend of ours."

He looked down at you and nodded his head for you to introduce yourself. You continued glaring and shook your head.

Kaoru grabbed your head and turned it to look at the person he was addressing. "Come on, Mei. Let's not be rude."

Your eyes traveled up until you saw his face. He was undeniably handsome with his pale-blond hair and violet eyes. He was quite tall and slender in build.

A charming smile came on his face as he looked at yours. You extended a hand. "Uh, hi. I'm Mei Kitahara. It's very nice to meet you."

The smile turned to a smirk as he took your hand and leaned in to you, this making you instantly lean back.

"I assure you, the pleasure is all mine, princess." He glanced at the boys before tilting his head down to your hand. "I must apologize for these two, they can be very un-gentleman like at a majority of times."

From behind you, there was the very offended yells in sync. "Hey! Don't go telling her that!"

Your eyes widened again when he puckered his lips to plant them on your hand, and you instantly pulled it away, leaving him to kiss the air for a few seconds until he opened his eyes and realized you were looking down at him in the opposite of comfortable.

"It's fine. I'm kind of used to it, actually."

A blush came on his cheeks as he coughed and straightened up. "I'm sorry, I haven't even introduced myself yet. My name is Tamaki Suoh, I'm the president here at the Ouran host club!"

He outstretched his arms in a presenting manor. You rose an eyebrow. "Uh-huh. That's really nice. Good to know."

Taking a discrete step back, you snatched the bag from Hikaru. 

"Hey!"

"It was nice meeting you, and seeing you boys again, but I really gotta-"

"There you are."

Your feet stopped at the crossing of the threshold. it was the sound of the cold voice that made you stop. Eyes wide with awe, your cheeks were feeling warm and you didn't understand why. Another Ouran male stepped forward and adjusted the glasses that covered his brownish-grey eyes. His short, black hair was styled into a casual look. He, was also tall and thin.

He stopped adjusting them when his cool, calculated gaze landed on you. "You're late. You are the delivery girl from Hinata gourmet cuisine, yes?"

Being reminded by your entire purpose of being here, you quickly nodded. "Uh, y-yes!" Reaching over, you swiped the hat from Kaoru and placed it back on your head with your ponytail through the hole.

"Delivery for Ouran?"

**< ><><><><><><><><><><><><><>**

As you placed the last of the boxes on top of the growing stacked tower, you named every item while the vice president checked it off from his clipboard.

"4 cases of Anmitsu along with 4 more boxes of adorning fruit, 5 boxes of Mochi, 4 boxes of kanten, 6 boxes of Suama, and 5 boxes of Botamochi."

He checked ff the last items after watching you take the last of them out. Meanwhile, the twins, along with Tamaki were staring with dropped jaws.

Again, the twins spoke at once. "Wait, how could all of that fit in your bag?"

ignoring them and pulling out the receipt from the bag, you handed it to the vice-president. "That will be 237 dollars and 78 cents, please."

He whipped out a check that he held out to you and he didn't even bother looking at you as he did. "Good. I'll make sure to call up your boss and notify her of your delivery."

You took the check from him. "Yeah, thanks." And you found yourself staring at him in curiosity. He can't be that cold and focused all the time, can he?

You looked over at the same girl in men's clothing from before and looked back at him. "So...is it common for you to take in girls as hosts?"

The entire room grew deadly quiet. You looked over at the twins, who were staring at you, now with shock. And Tamaki actually had fear in his eyes.

The vice-president finally looked up from his clipboard, his glasses shining in intimidation as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Not recently, no."

Suddenly, Tamaki grabbed you by the shoulders and turned you around in a panic frenzy. "How? How could you possibly know about Haruhi?!"

By hearing her name, she perked up from the couch and looked over. But once she saw you, she rose her eyebrows. Standing up, she walked over to you as you were being shaken forcibly.

Tamaki stopped once Haruhi stood in front of you. "Hey, your that girl from last week, right? I'm really sorry about knocking you out."

You smiled at her. "Oh, don't worry about it. I'm Mei Kitahara, by the way."

She outstretched her hand. "Nice to met you properly, I'm Haruhi Fujioka. Hey, don't you live downtown in Kōenji?"

You snapped your fingers as you thought. "That's right, you're Ranka's daughter, right? He's a regular."

She laughed to herself. "Yeah! You live right next to me, I'm surprised I didn't recognize you before."

"Mei-Chan!"

You looked to the side when the same boy from before came into view, riding on the shoulders of the tall male. Once he was placed on the floor, he came running straight for you. That was, until Hikaru pulled you into his side.

"Not so fast, Honey. We had her first."

Unexpectedly, Kaoru pulled you from Hikaru's arms and straight into his. "No need to hog her, Hikaru. There's enough Mei for all of us."

Haruhi sighed and walked over to pull them apart. "All right, if you're gonna fight, at least let go of her first."

Kaoru scoffed while Hikaru snickered. "Fine!"

Letting go at the same time with tons of force, you lost your balance and your footing. The next thing you knew, you were falling backwards. Shrieking, you fell against something hard, and then you quickly realized you began to also fall out of the window.

Closing your eyes, you felt yourself leaning further back. That was, until a hand had grabbed your wrist and yanked you forward. Eyes wide with fear, you fell into a hard chest.

And looking up, you found your eyes were locked with cool brownish-grey eyes. He stared down at you, before leaning closer.

Finding you were frozen, you made no attempt to stop him or push it back. He sighed right beside your ear.

"There goes 237 dollars and 78 cents."

Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, you turned back and your eyes widened in horrific fear by seeing all the food you had delivered, from today and last week, was all spilled out on the hard ground.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and stepped away from you. "Well, that is just perfect. That food was supposed to set us up for tomorrow's banquet."

Fixing the tie around his neck, he turned back to with frustration in his eyes. "I need the entire order you delivered from today and last week in two days, no sooner than that."

You felt your stomach dropped as you stared at him in disbelief. "What? You're joking, right? There is no way she can cook that much food in so little time, even with my help, it's impossible!"

He whipped out another check and outstretched it to you. "I don't plan on you getting nothing out of it, here, I'll pay you double for inconvenience."

You shook your head and pushed his hand away. "I don't care how much you pay me or offer me, I won't agree to a job I know is impossible overnight."

He was frowning now. "That food, on top of the expenses costed if you disagree to this will end up costing us 6 million yen."

Your entire body shivered. "6...6 million yen?! That's more than we make in a year!"

Turning away from you, he looked at the one person who hasn't spoken. "What should we do, Tamaki?"

Eyes still wide, you also turned to the guy who was now sitting on a chair in the middle of the room with his legs crossed. He rubbed his forehead as he thought.

"Well, considering the fact it was her that caused this entire problem, I think it would be safe to say she should offer us some form of payment." His eyes snapped open and bored though you as he pointed a finger in your direction.

"Mei Kitahara shall be the personal chef for the Ouran Host Club until she gives us all the time that equals to the money she owes!"

Your jaw hit the floor as you rose up a finger. "U...um..."

The twins high fived in the background. "Yes!"

Kaoru crossed his arms with a smile. "You know what this means, right? It'll be just like the old days. She'll be with us every day!"

Hikaru rested his elbow on Kaoru's shoulders. "We'll all be inseparable. She'll be like our sister." 

"Hold on a second!"

You were vigorously shaking your head. "Nice try. I never agreed to this!"

Tamaki smiled as he stood from his chair. "Sorry to say so, but you agreeing wasn't really required."

You continued shaking your head and menacingly pointing at him. "You know what - I don't even go here! So, thanks, but no thanks!" And with that, you quickly stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind you.

The twins whined at the same time once you left. "Great, now what?"

The vice-president adjusted his glasses. "We fix the problem."

**< ><><><><><><><><><><><><><>**

***Snore***

"Mei!"

***Snore***

"Mei! Get up! get up!"

"Waaah! What?!"

Slowly and reluctantly, you uncovered your face. You blinked, closed your eyes, and blinked again. Streaks of sunlight penetrated the window and blinded you. The hands that were shaking you turned you over.

You glared at her as she shoved an envelope in your face. "Look at this! Look what was in the mail!"

Sighing, you sat up, dragging your feet off the bed, and rub your knuckles onto your eyes. You scratched the back of your head and watched your legs dangle above the off-brown polyester carpet. Plucking the envelope out of her hand, you took out the letter from inside and began to read it.

_Dear Miss Mei Kitahara,_

_We at Ouran Academy our proud and glad to say we have accepted your application..._

Your eyes widened and you had to blink rapidly and read it again, before your head snapped back at her.

She had tears in her eyes. "Mei, why didn't you tell me you applied to go to Ouran?!"

You stared at her, then glanced at letter. "I didn't..."

**< ><><><><><><><><><><><><><>**

Ignoring the weird stares given to you as you raced down the hallways, your heart was beating louder than their judging whispers.

_There has to be a mistake...there's no way i got accepted here!_

Sliding to a stop, you huffed as you began running up the staircase. _Come on! Use your legs, Mei!_

Your hand grabbed on to the corner of the wall as you turned and continued running down it. You finally stopped in front of the Headmaster's office, but you had to pause your adrenaline rush to breathe.

Once you caught your breath, you pounded your fist on the door. And from the other side, you heard a calm voice.

"You may want to get that."

Still panting and out of breath, the door opened up and you came faced with the Headmaster. She seemed surprised at first, but then smiled and moved aside.

"Miss Kitahara. Please, come in. We've been expecting you."

You were confused by her words at first, until she walked away and you saw the person who was standing beside her desk. Your teeth clenched as you walked inside and slammed the door.

"You!"

He adjusted his glasses and crossed his arms. "Miss Kitahara. I'm glad you could make it."

You held up the letter and scowled. "Was this your doing?"

He stepped closer and kept no emotion on his face. "I will make you another offer. You will attend Ouran for one purpose - to work for our host club. My family will pay for all expenses. Including all the ingredients required for your cooking. And all the money will go towards Hinata Gourmet Cuisine. You shall work for us until it becomes inconvenient for either us or you. What do you say?"

You stared at him as if he were crazy, then looked at the Headmaster. "I-Is he serious?"

"Miss Kitahara." You looked back at him as his gaze went through you. "I am bankrupt serious."

You ran a hand through your hair, and paced from side to side, then looked back at him. "As long as you give her the money she needs...fine. I'll do it."

He had no reaction, as if he as already knowing my answer. The headmaster came over and shook your hand.

"Welcome to Ouran, Miss Kitahara.


	3. The Job of a High School Host!: 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s your first day at Ouran, and although your head is held high, everything you expect to go good turns sour when you are forced to do as they say, or it could mean the end of your career.

_Oh. My. God. Ugh, please, no!_

With horrific disgust, you stared at the dress you were holding up.

"It's worse up close!"

She sighed as she placed a hand on your shoulder. "I know, Sweet pea. But it is the school uniform. You need to wear it."

You instantly shook your head. "Please don't make me wear this. I'm not...I'm not a dress kind of girl, you know? Can I please just wear pants and a shirt?"

She placed her hands on her hips as she looked at you thoughtfully.

"What exactly was in the deal you made?"

You looked back at the dress.

_Flashback..._

_"I will make you another offer. You will attend Ouran for one purpose - to work for our host club."_

You perked up as an idea formed. "That's right..."

You glanced at her over your shoulder and smiled. "He had said that I am only being here to cook. That means I don't have to wear a uniform!"

In excitement, you tossed the dress over your shoulder and ran to your closet.

She sighed as she watched you throw article after article of clothing around the room and she rubbed her forehead. "Come on, I just cleaned your room!"

"Aha! This will be perfect!"

You ran back out of the closet and twirled around. "Eh? What do you think?"

She only have you a bored look. "You're wearing a yellow shirt and white shorts, am I supposed to be impressed?"

You huffed. "I just don't want to wear a dress, it feels to formal."

A small smile graced her lips as she shook her head and walked over to the closet. "Fine. But at least wear something more appropriate."

She grabbed a hanger and turned around. You looked at the white mini skirt thoughtfully.

"Well...yeah...I guess I can work with that..."

"Good" She tossed it at your head and you snatched it before it got the ground. "Now get dressed. You don't wanna be late to work, do you?"

  
  
For the third time, you were walking down the halls of Ouran Academy. And, apparently, it wasn't gonna be the last. Nope. Not even close. But it was weird, because before nobody could care less that you were there. And now...though it was really early, with what little amount of students there were, everyone was staring at you, and by glancing at each and every one, even when you passed by them, the girls had just plain envy, jealousy and hatred. You had to walk a bit further away from them.  
  
And then there were the guys. Yeah, nothing had changed with them. They glanced, grew a bit curious as to why all the girls had their panties in a twist, shook their heads in amusement, then went back to whatever they were doing. But there were those who were interested in you. Your looks, your casual walk of confidence, your blank look...usual stuff.   
  
When you actually got to where the dreaded music room was, you had to stop and take a deep breath to keep away any nerves that came. _What am I so worried for? It's not like anyone is here yet. It's way too early._  
  
Sighing and laughing to yourself, you twisted the door knob and opened the door. You did not expect what you were greeted with at all. Wide eyes and furrowed brows, you stepped inside and looked around at what you remembered was a room.  
  
The towering trees slanted over the land. The artificial sun passed through any miniature hole it could reach and illuminated the green background. The sweet jungle fragrance was almost cloying. Moving between the dense vegetation was nothing like walking the forests back home. From every direction came the hums and chirps of insects, the song of birds and the calls of mammals. It only confused you even more. Stepping over a fallen branch, you pushed aside the leaves belonging to one of the many palm trees and when you did, what you saw made you stop in your tracks.  
  
"Make sure the mist will spray all over the room, we need our guests to experience the real thing."  
  
The worker nodded and walked off. Your jaw dropped as you stared at him as if he had gone crazy. "Uh...Kyoya?"  
  
His head looked up by the sound of his name and he turned around. "Ah. Mei. You're early. Everyone else usually comes around the time first class ends."  
  
Stepping through the plants in front of you, you slightly stumbled as you shrugged your shoulders. "Well, sorry, but unlike everyone else, I am kinda used to getting up early and I don't have class to attend."  
  
He hummed as he scribbled something on his clipboard. "Don't apologize. Maybe, for once, someone around here will take this job seriously-"  
  
"Sir, the tropical outfits have arrived." 

You looked at the worker who ran up to Kyoya. He smiled. "Yes, thank you. Please leave them inside the changing room."

He nodded and ran off in the same direction. Once he left, Kyoya pushed up his glasses and looked back at you.

"You know, standing around won't do anything. You work for us now, right?"

He tossed an apron at you that fell on to your head. "Get to work, chef." You pulled the apron off you to see him walk away, yelling more directions at the men.

"No, don't put the chairs by the river! Keep them in the center near the kitchen, come on, everyone."  
  
You shook your head at him as you tied the apron around your waist. And you looked back, seeing a white door with the words 'Ouran Host kitchen' and without wasting another second, you practically ran to it.  
  
As soon as you pushed the door open, your eyes lit up and a huge grin took over your face. You were giggling like a school girl as you ran down the long aisle and ran your hand across every little detail of the kitchen. The white tile floors, the marble kitchen counters, the large cabinets, the humongous fridge!

You could barely contain your excitement and overwhelming happiness. It was all too much that you began twirling around like the happiest little chef in the world. But once you saw a blurry image of something on the counter, you had to stop your celebration.

There was what looked to be a neatly folded outfit with a card on top. You picked up the card and made out what the sharp, bold letters said.

**_'Mei. If you're reading this, that means you managed to find the kitchen. Congratulations. I'm sure you've noticed the newly decorated music room. Every host club member, including myself, will be wearing a tropical paradise outfit to fit the theme. This is also a requirement that applies to you. Please hurry up and change into your costume after you have finished preparing today's menu items and come outside to be introduced to our guests._ **

**_P.S. Don't waste any time. Since it's your first day, you will be judged on how well you perform._ **

**** **_And if you haven't figured it out yet,_ **

**** **_Sincerely Kyoya Ootori.'_ **

You cracked a smile at the end. "Really? As if it wasn't obvious. No one's as straight to the point as you are, boss."

You dropped the card in the trash can and then unfolded the clothes. Once you did, a blush came on your face. "W-What the...?"

**â™¡â™¡â™¡**

They were both grinning from ear to ear. "So Mei is our personal chef now, huh? This is gonna be great."

Kaoru looked at the kitchen door in anxiousness. "Yeah. Hikaru, this means were finally getting out our sister back!"

They both high fived. "Yes!"

Tamaki shook his head at them. "You are both so selfish. We are all lucky to have such a talented princess to cook for us. Like our little Cinderella."

"No."

They all looked over at Kyoya as he dropped the clipboard by his side and looked at them. "She is not out chef. I made theÂ deal with her, I am paying for everything, and out of all of us, I have given far more beneficial hospitality."

His glasses shimmered under the artificial light. "So, more frankly, she works for me."

The twins scoffed. "Yeah, yeah. We've known her longer, so it's us she'll listen to more."

"That's what you believe."

They glared at him. But their attention was then focused on the kitchen door as it slowly opened up

You had to peek through the crack in the door and you sighed in relief when you saw they were in a heated discussion. _Maybe if I'm quiet, they won't notice me._

Holding on to this thought, you pushed the door open. But as soon as you stepped outside, you stopped and regretted leaving the safety of the kitchen.

Everyone was staring at you. Tamaki had wide eyes, the twins had matching dropped jaws, Kyoya was only staring with all his emotions hidden, Mori had the same look, but you swore you saw the ghost of a smile. And Honey was beaming with his cheeks red.

Meanwhile, you stood awkwardly, feeling uncomfortable by their eyes on you. "Um..."

From what they saw, it was a girl wearing a purple strapless crop top and a short white skirt that was really a white sheet that had been twisted around your waist, and a golden arm band.

Your face was beginning to heat up. "Can I change?"

All at once, the twins ran up to you and started saying 'No' on a continuous loop while Honey also ran up, tackled you into a hug and wouldn't stop saying how pretty you were.

Tamaki rubbed his forehead. "Men, that's enough!"

Honey had stopped talking and looked up at Tamaki as he walked over and pushed the twins to the ground in annoyance.

He then looked down at Honey. "Honey-Senpai, this is Mei' s first day, lets give her a little space, all right?"

Pouting, Honey reluctantly let go of you and walked back over to Mori.

Tamaki looked up at you and smiled. "Your beauty takes my breath away, princess. There is no other who could compare to such beauty." He announced this as he bowed his head and got down on one knee.

You rose an eyebrow at him. "Right. And how many 'princesses' have you actually said that to?"

His smile fell as he looked back up at you with wide eyes of embarrassment. Well...um, I actually-"

"Tamaki, I think we should move on before you embarrass yourself even further."

Tamaki looked back at Kyoya who had a hand on his hip and cleared his throat as he stood up. "Uh...right."

Kyoya adjusted his glasses and fixated his gaze on you. "Now, Mei. Is everything ready?"

Your flushed state began to fade as you smiled. "Oh, yeah." You leaned back and pushed the door in. They all peered inside the kitchen. Everyone's mouths watered in surprise at the amount of delicious looking food that covered the counters.

Kyoya smiled in satisfaction. "Hm. Not bad."

  
"What heartlessness." He slid his hand up his body. "Even with my lustrous skin shining like brilliant ivory, exposed by my Balinese king outfit, I'm no more than a slave before my goddess." He delicately took her chin and raised her face up to his. "I kneel before you and swear my loyalty."  
  
She blushed as she got lost in his eyes. "Tamaki..."  
  
You awkwardly poked your head in between them. "I hate to interrupt, but here's the glass of champagne you ordered."  
  
Realizing that she was surrounded by people, she shrunk back with her cheeks redder than before as you placed the beverage on the table. "O-Oh, thank you..."  
  
You nodded as Tamaki straightened up and placed a hand on your shoulder. "Oh, yes. Ladies, I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of the host club. This is Mei, she will be the chef here that handles all food and beverage needs."  
  
You smiled at them as you bowed your head. "A pleasure. Please, feel free to ask me for anything you may crave at the moment."  
  
Tamaki rubbed his chin in thought. "Ah, that reminds me. I almost forgot to tell you ladies. Next week, the Ouran host club is sponsoring a party."  
  
He wrapped an arm around your shoulders. "And Mei here will be the chef and baker on site. If there is any way you can assist her, I sure would love it."  
  
The girl off to the left immediately rose her hand. "I-I'd like to help!"  
  
Seeing her do it, the other girl did the same. "Me too!"  
  
The third girl actually stood from her seat. "I'm a great helper!"  
  
You honestly wanted to laugh at how eager they were simply to please Tamaki. "Oh, well, in that case, any food suggestions and requests would be great. You can write some down and leave them on the kitchen door."  
  
You bowed your head one last time, before moving on to the next table. "In the meantime, please, enjoy."  
  
You had to watch as the first girl eagerly stood up. "Y-Yeah! I'll do that right now!" And she ran in the direction of the kitchen.  
  
Laughing to yourself, you paused walking when Haruhi was looking at Tamaki in curiosity, then looked at you. "We're throwing a party?"  
  
Your happy smile instantly fell. "Yep." You sighed tiredly. "I don't know where to even begin with this menu. I think I'll be dead before I can actually serve anything."  
  
And with a pat on the shoulder, you continued on to the table across.  
  
The girl who sat in front of the twins rested her chin in her palm. "What kind of party is it? Is it formal?"  
  
Hikaru smiled at her. "Yes, in fact we've rented the school's largest hall."  
  
Kaoru nodded in confirmation. "It's the perfect place for dancing."  
  
In a swift motion, Hikaru had suddenly stood and grabbed Kaoru's chin with his fingers, inching his face close. "But I really wanted to spend some alone time with you, Kaoru."  
  
Kaoru's eyes glazed over. "Don't be upset, Hikaru. I know exactly how you feel."  
  
The sounds of the two girls screaming in excitement over their little act rang out in the air. Once Hikaru caught sight of you walking by, he shot out his hand and grabbed your wrist.   
  
"There you are, butterfly. Would you care to introduce yourself to these lovely ladies?"  
  
You sighed as you flicked his forehead. He yelped as he rubbed it. "Come on, I told you not to call me that. I have a name, you know."  
  
As Kaoru held in his laughter, you turned to the girls and bowed your head. "Hello, my name is Mei Kitahara, I am the new chef here at the host club. If there is anything you would like, please, don't hesitate to ask."  
  
"Waah! Sissy hit me!"  
  
Kaoru grabbed Hikaru's face and placed a kiss on his forehead. "It's okay, Hikaru. I'll make you feel better."  
  
You rolled your eyes at them and moved on.  
  
Honey ran up to one of the tables and smiled widely at the two girls that sat there, displaying his outfit. "Ta-da!"  
  
The two girls beamed at him, awed by his cuteness. "Oh, you're so cute, honey!"  
  
He continued grinning. "Hi, ladies! I love these Balinese flowers, we had them flown in!"  
  
He turned his attention over to Mori when he walked by. "Takashi!" He ran over and climbed up his body to place a lei similar to his around his neck. "There, we match!"  
  
Okay, there you could see why the girls went crazy. He made you smile at how cute he was with Mori. Your gaze went over to Haruhi, who now sat at a table with three girls, but her attention seemed to also be on Honey and Mori.  
  
And once she saw you, she called out. "Hey Mei, can I get a water refill?"  
  
You smiled at her, before walking over to the bar to grab a water pitcher. Once you did reach the bar, you quickly noticed that it wasn't there.

"Looking for this?"

Turning around, you were faced with the pitcher. You grabbed it and saw the person who had been holding it. He pushed up his glasses and have you a once over.

"I personally chose each outfit for each member. I will admit that yours didn't end up looking all bad."

For some reason, you blushed a bit at that. _Did he just compliment me?_

And with that, he walked off, leaving you to state at his back. Snapping out of your daze, you remembered why you needed the pitcher and hurried back over to the table.  
  
"Um, Haruhi." 

She looked over one of the girls sitting in front of her.  
  
"Aren't you going to wear a tropical outfit like the other boys?" She glanced at you as you filled Haruhi's glass with water. "Even Mei is wearing one."  
  
You smiled at her as you began filling up her cup as well. The second girl at the table laughed. "I'd love to see that."  
  
You watched as Haruhi grew flustered and stumbled over her words. "Uh, no, I-I...I just think it's only appropriate to wear early spring attire in early spring, you know?"  
  
Tamaki suddenly popped up beside her, holding up a picture of the tropical outfit. "But we have one ready for you, Haruhi. I think you'll like it. You and I are a pair."  
  
She groaned in disapproval. "No thanks." And you saw his heart shatter by those words.  
  
One of the girls blushed. "Wow, Haruhi. You're really faithful to the different seasons."  
  
The girl beside her sighed dreamily. "I think that's great, I hope we're lucky enough that the cherry blossoms are in full bloom on the night of the party."  
  
The last girl closed her eyes in happiness as she daydreamed. "The two of us dancing among the cherry blossoms. It's so dreamy."  
  
"You really think so?" Haruhi smiled as she tilted her head at them. "Ya know ladies, I think it's so cute when you dream like that."  
  
Just by that look she was giving them, all three girls turned red and stared at her in dreamy awe.  
  
As you were about to walk off, you leaned down and whispered to her. "Show off." Her smile only widened.  
  
"Excuse me." You both turned and saw another girl with short brown hair standing by the table, looking directly at Haruhi. "I hate to disturb, but I think it's time for the hosts to switch clients."  
  
Haruhi's smile faded. "Oh, I'm sorry. You must be my next appointment, miss...uh.."  
  
She gave a smile. "My name's Kanako. Kanako Kasakazaki."  
  
As Haruhi looked down at her planner, Kanako lifted her chin back up so her eyes would meet hers. "You're even cuter than I expected. I've decided. From now on, you're going to be my new favorite host, Haruhi."  
  
You rose your eyebrows, but when you looked a the person who was staring in horror right by the table, you furrowed them. "Tamaki?"  
  
  
  
With the kitchen door slamming behind you, you walked out into the official 'Jungle-Free' room, glad that everything was the way it was before. Well, everything, except Tamaki. While everyone was huddled up around a table, planning for the upcoming party, he was slouching at a small table in a darkness by a closed window.  
  
You made a beeline for him and you were looking at him in confusion. "Tamaki, are you sure you want...this?"  
  
He didn't even look at you as he nodded.  
  
"Really? You pit Haruhi and I down for all our 'commoner' living choices, yet you wanna eat this?"  
  
"Just give it to me." His arm shot out as he took the bowl of ramen noodles from you.  
  
Your eyes widened when he did, especially when he started the slurp it. You shook your head at him as you placed a pair of chopsticks beside him. "Enjoy." And you crossed the room over to the more lively group of people.  
  
Once you did take a seat next to Haruhi, the twins looked back at him, and Hikaru sighed. "Hey, boss! Why don't you stop eating that commoner's ramen and come over here to help us with the party planning?"  
  
Kaoru rose an eyebrow in curiosity. "Does it really bother you that princess Kanako has taking a liking to Haruhi?"  
  
Kyoya pushed his glasses up as he typed away on his laptop. "He shouldn't be surprised. She's had the illness for a while now, hasn't she?"  
  
"Illness?" you leaned forward. "What illness is that?"  
  
Hikaru slid beside you and shrugged. "She's got the host hopping disease."  
  
Kaoru copied his motions. "A.K.A. the never the same boy twice disease."  
  
Kyoya paused his typing to look up at you. "Usually, our customers choose a favorite host and see them regularly, however, princess Kanako tends to change her favorites. On a regular basis."  
  
Honey popped up in between you and Haruhi, sucking on a lollipop. "That's right!" You picked him up and let him sit on your lap as he looked at Haruhi. "Cause before she was with you, she was with Tama-Chan!"  
  
Haruhi, who was resting her chin on her fist, spoke in a bored tone. "Oh...so he's upset because I took her from him?"  
  
You jumped when Tamaki shot up and ran lightening fast to scream at Haruhi. "Shut up! I couldn't care less!" She stared at him, completely unaffected by his outburst, while he stepped away from her with determination in his eyes. "I'm running out of patience." He pointed directly at her. "Haruhi, it's time you started dressing like a girl."  
  
She blinked. "Huh?"  
  
You all watched as he paced around the empty space. "I don't understand how you can be so popular with the ladies when you yourself are a lady!"  
  
You crossed your arms. "Actually, I think that's probably why. We kind of know our own gender better than any boy."  
  
He ran up to you and slammed his hands down on the table in frustration. "But that doesn't make any sense! No one else in the school knows the truth except for those of us here!"  
  
Hikaru appeared beside him. "Yeah, she opted out of taking gym classes."  
  
Kaoru also appeared on the opposite side. "And the attendance numbers are all mixed together so no one can tell."  
  
Tamaki then ran out of sight and came back in by pushing a trunk out to the middle of the room. "That's enough Haruhi." He opened it up and began searching for something inside. "Now you listen to daddy." He pulled out a giant framed picture of Haruhi's class photo that showed her with long hair, wearing a girls' uniform. Tears actually streamed from his eyes as he pointed at the picture. "Daddy wants you to go back to the way you were!"  
  
Haruhi stood up, anger clear in her face. "Don't go blowing my photos up without asking me first!"  
  
You also stood beside her, placing your hands on your hips. "Come on, that's kind of stalker-ish, don't you think? Creepy enough that you would have a photo of her."  
  
You didn't notice that behind you, the twins were trying to conceal a giant photo of you that was hanging on the wall the entire time. Instead, you looked over at Tamaki as he hung up the picture of Haruhi.Â   
  
Sneaking back over to the group, the twins casually leaned on your shoulders, and Hikaru shook his head in disbelief.  
  
"The more I look a this, the more amazed I am." He, along with everyone else, looked back at Haruhi. "How does someone like that become this?"  
  
She shrugged. "The day before school started, one of the kids in my neighborhood stuck some gum in my hair. It's a real pain to get gum out of hair, so I decided to cut it all off, I didn't care if I looked like a dude."  
  
Tamaki sneered in anger as he yelled in her face. "Girls should never refer to themselves as a 'dude'!" He looked over at the members as tears began to run from his eyes again. "Mama! Haruhi's using those dirty boy words again!"  
  
You stared at him weirdly, then looked at Kyoya. "Okay, 'mama'? 'Sissy'? Is playing house like a thing in this club? If so, who is 'mama'?"  
  
He crossed his arms and looked back at him as he bawled out on the floor. "Based on club position, I assume it's me."  
  
You held back a laugh as the mental image of Kyoya dressed up wearing an apron and heels came to mind.  
  
Haruhi sighed and held her hand up in defense. "Look, I don't see what you're crying about. Working as a host, I can pay back more of my debt. It'll never happen if I'm just an errand boy."  
  
Kaoru leaned forward and pointed a her. "Hate to bring this up now, but do you have formal dancing experience? You'll need it for the party."  
  
You closed your eyes at that thought. "The thought of dancing again...it's such a bore at parties."  
  
Haruhi gave a nervous smile. "Uh...no. Nut the party doesn't have anything to do with my quota, right? I'm not interested in going to events, so if I could be excused-"  
  
From behind her, Tamaki rose back up and stared at her, and even glanced at you, then smirked and rubbed his chin.  
  
"Definitely not. A refined gentlemen must know how to dance." He looked at Haruhi and rose a finger. "If you want to live the life of a host that badly, you are going to have to show us how far you are willing to go, Haruhi."  
  
He outstretched his arms. "I order you to master dancing the waltz in one week. And you will demonstrate it for us at the party..." He spun around, then menacingly pointed at her, "Or I tell the entire school that you're a girl! And knock you back down to errand boy!"  
  
Her entire form shivered in nervousness and fear. You crossed your arms, already feeling bad for her. "Don't worry, it'll be fi-"  
  
When he turned and pointed at you, you froze. "And you, Mei, will be the one to teach her! Or, we will cut your expenses for allowing to attend Ouran and you will not be allowed to attend the party without making a contribution!"  
  
Your face fell. "...What?"


	4. The Job of a High School Host!: 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being blackmailed is the worst thing that could happen to you. Especially when you ae forced to do multiple things at once.

"Um...are you sure about this, Mei?"  
  
You breathed out as you opened your eyes. "Believe me, if it was simple, we would've been done 3 hours ago."  
  
She had a very scared look on her face as she glanced own at the heels she was wearing. "Isn't it a bit weird to wear heels when I'm dressed like a guy?"   
  
You pinched the bridge of your nose. "I know. Just trust me, okay? If you can master dancing in these first, your balance will be perfect no matter how you dance or how your dressed."  
  
You placed her hand on your waist and put your hand on her shoulder. "The Lead clasps the follower's right hand in their left." She did as you instructed and took your hand.  
  
"Next, the lead places their right hand to cup the follower's shoulder blade."  
  
"Uh...like this?"  
  
"Yes. Stand with backs straight, upright, and knees loose."  
  
"Okay..."  
  
"Start with left and right feet together."   
  
"All right."  
  
"Step diagonally with your right foot."   
  
"Step together, then step back with your right foot."  
  
You couldn't hold back the smile that was forming on your lips as she did every direction you said perfectly.  
  
"And finally, step diagonally with your left foot, then step together again."  
  
When she stepped together, you pulled away to applaud her. "Wow, that actually went better than I thought it would."  
  
 ***Knock* *Knock***  
  
You both turned around at the sound of someone softly knocking. The door was cracked open and a head was poking out, but when you both saw her, she opened it wider and stepped inside.  
  
"Sorry, I don't mean to intrude. Haruhi, are you taking dance lessons?"  
  
Once Haruhi saw her, she straightened up and smiled. "Oh! Miss Kasakazaki, I'm sorry, I didn't see- oh!"  
  
She had been starting towards her, unfortunately, the heels that she was wearing had completely slipped her mind.  
  
Kanako glanced down at the fallen Haruhi and tilted her head. "Are those heels?"  
  
You covered your mouth in an attempt to hold back your laughter as you stepped over Haruhi and bowed your head. "Oh, uh, good morning, Miss Kasakazaki. I'm sorry, but Haruhi isn't taking any customers today."  
  
You glanced to the side as Haruhi managed to stand up.  
  
You managed to look her in the eye. "I'm sorry, I'm kind of tired from teaching Haruhi to dance in time for the party and I'm the only chef who will be preparing the food and drink for the event."   
  
You glanced at Haruhi one more time as an idea began to form. "I, uh, hope this isn't too much to ask of you, but can you help by being Haruhi's dancing partner while I begin planning the food that will be present?"  
  
Her eyebrows rose up, but a smile formed on her lips. "Of course. I'd be happy to."  
  
 **. . .**  
  
"Quick, quick, slow. Quick, quick, slow."  
  
Kanako smiled as Haruhi and her danced across the room. "Good work, Haruhi. Now, on the slow, you should bring your feet together. Remember, the gentleman always leads."  
  
"Uh..."  
  
"And make sure to look at the Lady you're dancing with."  
  
"Got it."  
  
Seconds later, Haruhi tripped over the fabric of Kanako's dress and fell to the floor, unfortunately with Kanako beneath her.  
  
Her eyes went wide as she stared down at the girl beneath her. "U-Uh, Miss Kasakazaki, I'm so sorry!"  
  
She let out a small gasp of surprise when Kanako wrapped her arms around Haruhi's neck and pulled her down, closer to her.  
  
"It's okay, Haruhi."  
  
The twins were looking at Tamaki from afar, who was sitting up against the wall in the darkness and watching Haruhi and Kanako with a gloomy look.  
  
"Why so gloomy, boss?"  
  
Hikaru looked at Kaoru. "I bet it's because he wanted to be the one Haruhi practices with."  
  
Kaoru snickered. "I think you may be right, but he's way too tall to stand in as a woman."  
  
Their heads turned at the sound of your shoes tapping against the polished floor as you came over to them. Balancing the tray of food in one palm, you poked your head in between them.  
  
"Hey, do you guys want to try some dishes I made for the party? I need some critics."  
  
You jumped when they put their arms over your shoulders.  
  
Hikaru actually pinched your cheek and puckered his lips as if he were talking to a baby. "Would you look at that - Sissy wants us to try her little dish."  
  
 _Why do they keep calling me Sissy?_  
  
You scowled when Kaoru rubbed your head, making your hair fall in your face.   
  
"Aww, of course we will, butterfly!"  
  
They reached over and picked up the neatly made hand rolls from the plate.  
  
"This first dish was something I chose. Tameki sushi hand rolls. It's made as a rolled cone of seaweed, wrapped around rice and any choice of filling. For this one, we have sashimi-grade fish. I was thinking of having a type of buffet style and have everyone make their own rolls out of whatever fillings they wish."  
  
You were pretty sure they weren't even listening as their only response was "Huh" and they both took a bite at the same time.  
  
What happened seconds later made your eyes widen and lips part in surprise. You could see how their eyes lit up, before they began eating like the small food was going out of style. They crammed it in thick and fast, then reached over and snatched ever last roll that had been on the plate, consuming a meal that had taken half an hour to prepare and cook in a matter of minutes.  
  
"Uh..."  
  
They were mumbling to themselves as they crammed and shewed all they shoved into their mouths. And you could barely make out one sentence from each of them.  
  
"This is amazing!"  
  
"Oh! How can this be so good?!"  
  
"So...is that a yes for the menu?"  
  
Their heads snapped to you, as if they had remembered you were in the room, and by the sight of their overly stuffed cheeks, you covered your mouth to hold back a laugh. And you backed up when they suddenly got very close.  
  
"Hell yeah!"  
  
Though it was funny, the happiness your food brought them had made a smile spread on your face.  
  
"We got to share this!"  
  
And in those moments, it dropped when they both wrapped an arm around each of your shoulders and turned you around to everyone else.  
  
"Hey, everyone! You got to taste this!"  
  
"We promise, it's too good to resist!"  
  
That's when you felt your cheeks grow warm from a rising feeling of embarrassment as you refused to look at them. But when you heard a laugh, you did look up at the person who had let it out.  
  
Kanako covered the last sounds of her laugh and smiled. "Well, if it's that good, I simply have to try it." She glanced at Haruhi. "Don't you agree, Haruhi?"  
  
Haruhi had a small laugh of amusement and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind something to nibble on."  
  
Your eyes grew wide.  
  
The twins grinned from ear to ear and leaned forward to give double slaps to your butt.  
  
"Eeep!"  
  
"Go get 'em, Sis!"  
  
 **. . .**  
  
Your feet couldn't help but anxiously tap against the floor as you waited for their reaction after the first bite. Haruhi's eyes actually went a little wide as she gobbled the rest.  
  
"So, uh, how is it?"  
  
Realizing she had eyes on her, she turned to look at you and smiled. "Oh, man, this is great!"  
  
Kanako smiled as she chewed her bite. When she turned to look at you, your form went stiff. "I agree. This is heavenly delicious. I can't wait to try what else you come up with next week."  
  
Her words definitely made a smile form on your face. You took their empty plates from beneath them in one hand and bowed your head, before quickly walking off towards the kitchen, trying to contain the excitement and happiness inside of you. However, just as you were about to push open the door, you stopped and turned your head to the right, noticing the slumped up figure sitting in the window seal.  
  
"You know, hiding in the corner won't make you feel any better."  
  
He didn't even make a movement of acknowledgment as he kept his head down and his gaze out the window.   
  
You shook your head and glanced down at the spare plate in your other hand that had one roll left on it. Looking between it and him, you held out the plate in front of him. He didn't move his head, but his eyes moved and looked down at it.  
  
"Come on, I can't stand seeing people unhappy. It's not much, but I hope it can lift your spirits."  
  
For a moment, he simply stared a the dish, then finally, he reached over and picked it up. He studied the outside of it, then leaned forward and took a bite.  
  
And in that second, he perked up and he seemed to have your full attention. You gave a smile as you could hear a small sigh come from him that was almost inaudible.  
  
"It's delicious. Not bad for your first dish, princess."  
  
That sentence had made your smile drop and your entire form shiver. "U-Uh..."  
  
And when he finally looked at you, you noticed that he now had a smirk. "You're pretty cute when your blushing. I knew you had a thing for me, Mei."  
  
Your lips had pressed into a firm line as you hopelessly attempted to hide your blush from him. Yet, he only laughed and stood up, putting his hands in his pockets and taking a few steps away.  
  
You exhaled in frustration. "Stop calling me that, and I don't have a thing for you, idiot!"  
  
He scoffed in amusement. "And now, our princess is getting defensive. Very cute."  
  
Your head snapped in his direction, your eyes glaring daggers into his back. "Hey, stop calling me cute! And for the last time, I'm not your princess!"  
  
"Delivery!"  
  
He froze mid-step and everyone's attention, including yours, had turned to the young man in a uniform that was carrying a large box standing in the doorway.  
  
He stepped inside and smiled widely at everyone. "I have the new tea set you ordered."  
  
You glanced over at Kyoya, who smiled back. "Ah, thank you very much."  
  
As he moved over from the table towards the man, he glanced at you and it honestly made you tense up.  
  
 _Why did he just look at me like that? Is my face still red?_  
  
He looked away from you and focused on the clipboard the man handed to him. As he signed his signature, he laughed to himself. "Every design you've chosen for us has been very popular with the ladies. I'm quite impressed."  
  
He chuckled in response. "Well that's good to hear!"  
  
You hadn't even noticed you were staring at Kyoya and for far too long, until the man noticed you doing so.  
  
"Oh, hello. I don't think I've ever seen you around here before."  
  
His words snapped you out of your trance. "Um...Me?"  
  
"Yes." Once Kyoya finished signing, he pushed up his glasses. "This is our new club chef, Miss Kitahara. She's in charge of preparing and serving all the food and drink here."  
  
You managed a shy smile. "Hello. You can call me Mei if you'd like."  
  
He gave a polite smile. "It's a pleasure. I respect someone who can handle that amount of pressure and responsibility."  
  
Your smile actually widened as you shrugged. "Well, I've had plenty of practice with delivering for Hinata."  
  
His smile grew into a surprised expression. "...Hinata? You mean Hinata Gourmet Cuisine? They make some pretty delicious food. I can't believe Ouran managed to get someone that talented from there to be their personal chef."Â   
  
Your eyes enlarged a the compliment. :O-Oh, well, thank you! So, you sell tea sets?"  
  
He laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Actually, I'm just a regular student. Can't you tell by the uniform?"  
  
You closed your eyes and smiled as you took the box from him.  
  
"Oh, Mei. You're so funny!"  
  
Everyone looked to Kanako, who had her back to everyone the whole time, as she turned around in her chair to flash a smile at you.

  
"I mean, I can't blame you for not knowing. After all, he doesn't look like the heir to a first class company."  
  
Haruhi looked over at him. "First class company?"  
  
Kyoya hummed. "His family's business, the Sozushima Trading Company, deals primarily in the importing of tableware. They currently have the top market share in the country."  
  
She placed a hand on her hip as she stared at him in astonishment. "Wow."  
  
"So, whenever something exceptional comes in, we've asked them to send them in our way."  
  
You looked back up at Sozushima and noticed he had his eyes set on Kanako, who had turned back around so her back was to him. And you couldn't help but raise your eyebrows in curiosity. "He has a great eye for fine china, don't you Sozushima?"  
  
After a second, he realized Kyoya was addressing him and smiled.  
  
"You think? I've still got a lot to learn, but thank you."  
  
"Aren't you leaving next month to study abroad in England?"

  
"Yes, I am." After hesitantly asking, he glanced at Kanako again. "Well, I'd better go now."  
  
He turned to you. "It was great meeting you, Mei. I hope we can talk again soon. Please say hi to Miss Kitahara for me, would you?"  
  
You were caught off guard for a second. "Oh, uh, of course!"  
  
With one last smile, he turned and left the room, with his footsteps echoing in the room.

  
Your gaze fell back on Kanako, who was now anxiously tapping her nails against the tea cup in her hands.  
  
"So, are you enjoying the Host club?"

  
She jumped and her head shot up to see the charming smile of the Host club president, who had appeared, with his hands on his hips.  
  
Haruhi glanced down at her behavior. "I get the feeling you and that guy are kinda close."

  
Not even a second after her sentence, Kanako turned around in her chair, making a strange noise of surprise, to stare at Haruhi and it was clear to everyone that she became defensive.  
  
"O-Oh, no! No! Don't be ridiculous! We hardly know each other! What makes you say that, Haruhi?"  
  
She let out a nervous laughter as she stood up from her chair. "Now if you'll please excuse me..." She quickly pulled out a handkerchief and covered her mouth as she left the room in a hurry. "Take care!"  
  
You watched her retreating form disappear and glanced over at everyone else. "I'm not the only one who found that suspicious, right?"  
  
"Mei-Chan!"  
  
You gasped as a small human jumped onto your back, and wrapped his arms as well as his legs around your neck and waist.  
  
Honey leaned in to you, his bright smile ever clear on his face. "Guess what? They do know each other! Sozushima is Kanako-Chan's ex-fiancé!"  
  
You rose an eyebrow. "Ex-Fiancé?"  
  
You glanced over at Tamaki as he crossed his arms. "Kyoya." He looked at him from the corner of his eye as Kyoya turned to him. "How long have you known about this?"  
  
"About the two of them being formerly engaged?" He pulled out a large binder and opened it up. "Well, as you know, I conduct general searches on all of our customers. The two of them are childhood friends, it seems the engagement was first arranged by their parents, but due to some complications, his parents made him break off the engagement. I didn't think the information would benefit us, so I disregarded it."  
  
Tamaki rubbed his chin in thought. "I see."  
  
Kyoya looked down at a page that had both Kanako's and Sozushima's pictures, along with their information. "Toru Sozushima. Outstanding grades, fair social status. He's ordinary looking, but he's reliable. If I had to fault him for anything..."  
  
Hikaru popped up on his left. "He doesn't have much presence."  
  
Kaoru slid over to Kyoya's right. "And he's faint hearted."  
  
"So, in other words...." He looked back up at everyone as he closed the binder. "He's boring."  
  
You shrugged your shoulders and glanced to the side. "I don't know about that..."  
  
Honey tightened his grip on you and looked back at Mori, who stood behind you. "Sozushima is a good boy, right?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Tamaki walked into the center of the room to address everyone. "All right, everyone. We'll have to work on our strategy."  
  
In a bored tone, you all spoke at the same time. "Which one?"  
  
He placed his hands on his hips and looked out to everyone. "Men, ladies, it is our responsibility, as members of the elite Ouran Host club, to make every girl happy!"  
  
The only ones who cheered with him were the twins, everyone else just wandered off to do whatever they were doing before.  
  
"Mei-Chan?"  
  
You looked up at the eyes looking back down at you. Honey yawned and rubbed his eyes. "I'm getting tired. Can you sing me a lullaby and tuck me in for my nap?"  
  
You smiled warmly. "Of course I will." You glanced at Mori from the corner of your eye, who silently stared at him. "Only if it's okay with Mori, though."  
  
For the first time, he looked at you and gave a nod in confirmation. Your smile grew as you reached up and picked Honey off your shoulders to carry him properly in your arms.  And you both headed straight for the kitchen.  
  
You began rubbing his back in a soothing way as you opened the door to the kitchen and quietly closed it behind you, then moved over passed the counter towards the bed you had made in the back whenever you were too tired and needed a nap.  
  
Keeping your hand on his back, you gently placed his body down in the bed. He immediately curled up into a ball and began clutching the pillow that was there. You knelt down and folded your arms across the table where the bed was placed.  
  
"So, do you have any preferences?"  
  
He shook his head. "Takashi doesn't sing, he only reads me stories."  
  
You puckered your lips and nodded in understanding.  
  
"All right, well, there is one lullaby I know that I picked up from America. Apparently, it works fast."  
  
You leaned your cheek against the back of your hand and ran a hand through his hair, which made him smile.  
  
 _ **Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high  
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby  
  
Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue  
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true  
  
Someday I'll wish upon a star  
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me  
  
Where troubles melt like lemon drops  
Away above the chimney tops  
That's where you'll find me  
  
Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly  
Birds fly over the rainbow  
Why then, oh why can't I?  
  
If happy little bluebirds fly  
Beyond the rainbow  
Why, oh why, can't I?**_  
  
You stopped singing to look down at him and caught him mid-yawn, but once he realized you were finished, he shook his head.  
  
"Another one..."  
  
You sighed and shook your head, but still held back a smile. "All right. But one more."  
  
 ** _Raindrops on roses  
And whiskers on kittens  
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens  
Brown paper packages tied up with strings  
These are a few of my favorite things  
  
Cream-colored ponies and crisp apple strudels  
Doorbells and sleigh bells  
And schnitzel with noodles  
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings  
These are a few of my favorite things  
  
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes  
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes  
Silver-white winters that melt into springs  
These are a few of my favorite things  
  
When the dog bites  
When the bee stings  
When I'm feeling sad  
  
 I simply remember my favorite things  
And then I don't feel so bad_**  
  
The moment you opened your eyes, you looked down at the sound of him softly snoring and smiled widely at the view of him sucking on his thumb, cuddling his bunny. The scene was honestly just too cute. Not wanting to wake him up, you stood up and turned around. But once you did, you froze in your path.  
  
Your eyes were wide as they stared at the person who was standing by the door with a hand on his hip.  
  
"You can sing."  
  
Your body was far too tense from the surprise of him being there that you couldn't say anything for a second.  
  
"H-How long have you been standing there?"  
  
He gave a small laugh. "Longer than you'd like, I'm sure."  
  
He beckoned you over as he glanced at Honey. "I'd like to not wake him up if that's possible."  
  
You came over as he said and he pushed up his glasses as he studied your face and looked you up and down.  
  
"There's been a small change of plans."  
  
Your eyebrows shot up. "Since when?"  
  
"About 2 minutes ago."  
  
His sharp response made your mouth shut.  
  
"From my observations, you have managed to teach Haruhi the basics of dancing the waltz. Some more practice is all she needs. Therefore, being her teacher is no longer your responsibility. And to avoid any conflict for going against the club president's order, you will still contribute your services other than cooking on the night of the party."  
  
You bit your bottom lip in a bit of confusion. "Um...doing what?"  
  
He pulled out a piece of paper from his binder and held it out to you. You took it hesitantly.  
  
"That there is a list of songs I began writing down."  
  
Your heart began beating faster as you looked back up at him.  
  
His glasses where gleaming and his smirk was highlighted, it honestly felt as if you were standing before the devil.  
  
"From now on, you are our club chef **and** event singer."


	5. The Job of A High School Host!: 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Though it was incredibly difficult and challenging, you succeed in pulling of the biggest climax ever at Ouran Academy.

"Ugh!"  
  
"Hold still!"  
  
"I don't like how this feels! It's so girly!"  
  
"It's a dress! It's not manly! Hush up and for Pete's sake, stop moving!"  
  
You flinched when she pulled the fabric tighter together and zipped up the back of the dress. And once it was over, you didn't even realize you were holding your breath until you heard her sigh in relief.  
  
She grabbed your shoulders and turned you around to where you were seeing yourself in the mirror.   
  
"There. See, don't you look pretty?"  
  
You looked yourself up and down, on the outside showing a frowning disgust, but on the inside...you thought you looked kinda nice.  
  
"I hate it."  
  
She sighed and held back an eye roll. "Come on, you're used to wearing dresses, you shouldn't be so negative every time you put one on."  
  
You twisted your neck to look at her and smile. "I hate it."  
  
"Ow!" You yelped and rubbed the center of your forehead, where she flicked in you out of annoyance.  
  
She plopped a hand bag in your hand and smiled warmly at you. "I know this will make you uncomfortable, but just smile and at least try to have fun."  
  
And with a kiss on the spot where she abused you, she was practically pushing you out the door.  
  
"And try bringing home a cute one, okay?"  
  
Your eyes widened as you looked back, but she was already shutting the door. Glancing around at the empty street, you sighed deeply. And with your arms crossed, you began walking down the street.  
  
"Wait, Mei!"  
  
Furrowing your brows, you turned around and once you saw the running figure of Haruhi, you smiled. "Hey, Haruhi. You're walking too, huh?"  
  
She shrugged as she stopped and you both continued walking. "My dad's not home around this time. So, you're stuck with me."

She stepped in front of me, moving her legs so she was walking backwards and looked you over. 

"Wow, you look great, Mei. You should wear dresses more often."

She looked up and her happiness faded once she saw the frown on your face.

"No, thanks."

You took the moment to look over her outfit. Of course, it wasn't some poofy dress. It was a suit, most likely one provided by the host club. And you were sure that if anyone from school actually saw you both together, they'd assume the most logical thing.

***honk* *honk***

You both slowed down and looked back. You mentally groaned.

"Oh, great."

By the look of the sleek, long black limousine, you already guessed it was some group of girls ready to jump Haruhi's bones and stampede over you to do it.

But that thought left when the sun roof rolled down and two familiar faces poked out.

"Hey, sis! Hey, Haruhi!"

As soon as the car came to a stop, the door to the side facing you opened up and you both peeked inside, to see Tamaki relaxing in the seat right in front of it, Kyoya sitting beside him, and the legs of the two boys that first greeted you, standing beneath the exposed top.

Tamaki spread his arms.

"Good evening, ladies. It's far too cold to be walking out here. Care for a ride?"

Haruhi rose an eyebrow. "Uh, it's, like, 70 degrees out here."

Without giving her another moment to speak, you grabbed her arm and pulled her into the car with you.

"Come on, Haruhi. As if I want to do any more walking in these heels."

The door shut behind you and you felt the car begin to move again.

Tamaki was, of course, the first to speak.

"You look absolutely breathtaking, Princess."

He glanced over at the man next to him and chuckled. "Don't you agree, Kyoya?"

You gulped and turned to Kyoya, stuff as you awaited his response.

He glanced up from his phone call, then pressed the end button on his phone.

"Mei, have you picked a song to perform tonight?"

Your excitement slowly faded and you looked away with a bid.

"Yes. I did."

He smiled in approval. "Good. I have high expectations, so don't mess this up."

You glanced back to him, eyes narrowed. "That I can promise. I won't let myself fail."

The twins poked their heads back inside the car and Tamaki looked up, while Haruhi also looked between you and Kyoya, pointing a finger between you.

"Wait. So, are you saying Mei is actually singing tonight?"

Kyoya was typing away on his phone, then put it up to his ear.

"Well, it is what I'm paying her for. What kind of event singer would she be if she didn't?"

You were glaring daggers of death at him, and the car felt tense the entire car ride to the party.

*****

"It is so good to see you here tonight, my little lambs."

Tamaki rubbed his chin as he stared out at his audience.

"The Ouran Host club would like to bid you..."

Placing a hand under his chin, he bowed his head.

"Welcome."

At that single word, the light that made up one of the 3 chandeliers lit up, followed by the other two. The orchestra of violins filled the room, and the applause of the audience, that was only made up of women, rang in the air.

Stepping forward, you tied your apron around your waist and folded your hands behind your back as you addressed them.

"As always, ladies, the host club is here for your entertainment. So we invite you to dance to your heart's content. Based on your dancing skills, one lucky lady will be chosen as tonight's Queen."

You then outstretched your arms and gestured them over to the man standing above you on the second staircase. "The Queen's reward will be a passionate kiss on the cheek...from our King."

Tamaki smirked at them all and crossed his arms. "Good luck to you..." He then brought his fingers to his lips and blew them all a kiss. "My darlings."

Just that fantasy alone was enough to send the sea of girls into a frenzy. A few actually fainted. And it made you sigh through the smile on your face.

"Look at them. I'm almost embarrassed to call myself one."

Kaoru came up next to you and bumped your side. "Oh, cheer up, sis!"

Hikaru ruffled your hair and rested his elbow on your shoulder afterwards. "Don't worry, we'll make sure you'll have someone to dance with."

"Oh, yay, great."

Fortunately, their attention was moved over on to Haruhi as she was moping at the crowd.

They both appeared behind her with their hands on their hips, speaking simultaneously.

"Haruhi, show some enthusiasm!"

She sighed at them. "Well excuse me you guys, sorry. I'm not used to this sort of thing. I've only gone to the festivals held in my neighborhood park."

You crossed your arms at her. "I don't really think you can count that as a party. Only, like, 15 people even come to those."

Kyoya spoke up as he wrote on his clipboard without looking up at her. "Well, since you're already here, you might as well get something to eat. I'm sure one Mei's dishes can raise your spirits. She's put out quite a spread."

Haruhi perked up and turned her head to you. "A spread? With....fancy tuna?"

The sound of Kyoya's pencil breaking by too much force out of surprise made you flinch as the twins widened their eyes.

You furrowed your brows, incredibly confused by what she meant. "Fancy tuna?"

And out of nowhere, Tamaki jumped down from where he had been standing above you and pointed at Kyoya in a commanding tone.

"Get some tuna here right now!"

Which resulted in Kyoya sharply turning his head to you, a voice of seriousness. "Mei, prepare some deluxe sushi."

You were even more confused as to their reactions and why sushi was now such a high priority. Yet, you still smiled, though your eyebrow was twitching.

"Uh, okay." And off you scurried, towards the kitchen.

Haruhi shook her head and reached her hand out in an attempt to stop you. "Mei, you don't have to-"

She was interrupted by the twins crushing her in a hug, which only made her frown.

_Damn these filthy rich jerks._

***********

Once you had finished preparing the last minute load of fancy fish, you hopped out of the kitchen and made a beeline for Haruhi, who was leaning against a pillar, and being painfully unsocial. Once she caught sight of you, she smiled and waved.

You skid to a stop and outstretched the fresh platter to her with a wide smile.

"Her you go, fancy tuna!"

She giggled a little, bur still took the tray. The entire tray, might add.

"You didn't actually have to make it, you know."

You smiled wider. "It's my job to make those around me happy."

She shrugged. "Well, thanks."

And when she turned around to eat her treat, she didn't notice the whiff of air that came as a result of two figures flying by and you were gone seconds after. And when she did feel the air, she turned back.

"Mei?"

**********

You were kicking the two jerks that kidnapped you, and you were yelling at them to let go of you as they ran away, but it was muffled by your face being buried into one of their backs.

Until finally, they stopped running and you heard one voice.

"Great work, boys. Sozushima will be ready any minute, so let's hurry up and make her look presentable."

Kyoya?! 

As soon as they let you down, you were looking at the three of them in anger. 

"What is going on?!"

Instead of an answer, you were shoved back into a small cubicle and landed on the carpet. You winced at the impact, before looking up to see Hikaru holding a pile a folded dress.

"Get changed, we'll explain along the way."

And after tossing them inside, the curtain attached to it shut. You groaned when the dress landed on your face. However, when you took it off and looked it over, your eyes widened.

"T-This is beautiful."

Kyoya scoffed as he adjusted his glasses. "Obviously. The plan wouldn't work otherwise."

"What plan? What the hell is going on here?"

Kaoru leaned against the wall. "To sum it up, the guy you met yesterday, Sozushima, because he's Kanako's ex, we have a plan to bring them back together. Sozushima just arrived and we need you to change his mind and go after Kanako by charming him."

You paused with your dress halfway over your shoulders. "What kind of a plan is that?"

As one of them was about to answer, they were interrupted by what sounded like Haruhi yelling into the room. And all you heard next was Kaoru's voice.

"There she is."

Followed by the sound of Honey's laughter, then Haruhi's voice.

"You didn't have to be so forceful!"

"Never mind that, go get changed."

"Yeah!"

And with a gasp from her, the curtain opened back up and she nearly fell on top of you if you hadn't caught her.

You huffed as she turned around to start getting herself dressed.

"And why is Haruhi a part of this?"

This time, Hikaru began continuing what he was saying.

"There was a last minute issue. We didn't count on Princess Kanako's new fiance to show up this evening to look for Kanako. So, Haruhi here is going to distract him while you talk to Sozushima and the boss talks to Kanako. And when they're both convinced, we will send one after the other. Simple!"

Your eyebrow twitched as you were about to start ranting, but Kyoya's collecting voice beat you to it.

"You can't refuse this, Mei. I am in charge of you and I say you have no choice to go against it. It's your job as a host club member to make every girl happy. And you hate to disappoint, don't you?"

You tensed up, then sighed out of defeat.

"A little accident towards the end of the night might make the evening more thrilling for everyone."  He chuckled to himself.

"Remember, ladies. There are only twenty minutes remaining before the party reaches its climax. And Mei, once you finish your part, you need to be on stage to perform for the crowning of the Queen. Haruhi, Kanako's fiance is in the library downstairs, thinking Kanako is coming. Mei, Sozushima is  waiting for you in the classroom across the hall."

Once you looked to see if Haruhi was done, you were shocked at what a wig, dress and some heels could do. "Woah..."

You slid the curtain door open and once the twins got a look at you, they gasped. "Sissy looks so pretty in that dress!"

But once you stepped aside, they practically yanked Haruhi over to the other side of the room. They forced her to sit down beside a table of various makeup items. 

Honey came over to you and pulled you over to sit beside her next to a hair styling station. Mori stood behind you and began brushing your hair, which you didn't expect at all and it admit ably made you blush a bit.

Honey sat down in front of you. "Now remember, you have to ask him how he feels, okay?"

You smiled down at him. "Don't worry, Honey. I know what to do."

And after Mori finished putting your hair into a loose side ponytail, there was the sound of the room's door opening.

"Here you all are! What are you doing? The guests are-" 

As you turned around in your seat, you saw the starstruck face of Tamaki as he watched Haruhi stand up and turn to look at him.

You followed after her and saw the more love struck look on his face and it made you crack a smirk.

_Someone's in looove._

The twins appeared on either side of Tamaki with proud smiles. 

"What do you think?"

Honey looked up at the both of you in awe. "You both look so cute!"

While you began walking uncomfortably out of the room, Haruhi walked beside you, frowning.

"My face feels heavy and it's hard to walk in these shoes!"

You groaned. "You get used to it."

The twins waved you both off as you walked down the hall.

"Good luck!"

**********

As soon as you opened the door to the classroom, you saw the back of Sozushima as he gazed out the tall window. And when he heard the door close, he turned and once he saw your face, his eyes enlarged with surprise.

"Mei? You're the one who wrote this letter?"

You were confused when he held up a folded piece of paper.

"Letter?"

******

_'I'm in love-love! From the first time I saw you, I've been head over heels in love! Hehe! It's like my heart is stuck in a never ending typhoon! All these feelings of love keep whipping around in my heart like the breaking waves! When the typhoon's rising water's come, I want to rendezvous with you on Noah's ark! I do! I do!'_

Your face was filled with embarrassment as you finished reading the letter.

_I am going to kill those boys._

"Mei, I didn't know you actually felt that way after we met. I admit there was some sort of connection, but..."

Your head shot up. "N-No! I-It's not what it - I mean I didn't-"

"I'm sorry, Mei. I do like you and I am flattered, but I only saw you as a friend. You're a great girl, but I don't feel the same way."

When you actually saw his face, it was one of guilt, but you knew it wasn't for you.

"You see, another girl already has my heart."

You gave a weary smile. "I understand. I'm sorry, I didn't know you had a girlfriend."

He actually looked up at you, then out the window.

"Unfortunately, she's not my girlfriend. In fact, I don't think she wants anything to do with me. In all honesty, she'd be better with someone more self-confident than me."

 He sighed to himself. "That's why I decided to change. I want to see the world. Hopefully, become a better man. I know it's selfish, but I wonder if she'll wait for me."

"Yes, that is selfish."

His head snapped back to you, a look on his face as if he had just been stabbed in the heart.

You crossed your arms and shook your head at him. "Do you even realize how much she already cares for you?"

He furrowed his brows.

"It's Kanako, right?"

He froze up. "H-How did you-"

"Oh please, anyone with working eyes can see that. Look, you can't put yourself down because things didn't work out for the best between you two. You don't need to have self confidence, just confidence in her that she will accept you the way you are. You can't keep making excuses because your too afraid to just talk to her."

You folded your hands together and glanced back up at him.

"You can't hope for the best, you need to guarantee it. That won't happen by wishing. You already know who you should be talking to right now. And it isn't me."

His lips parted as he breathed out a response. "Thank you, Mei."

You smiled at him right when you heard the door creak open. Looking back, you smiled bigger when you saw Kanako's heartbroken face at the sight of you two, before she quickly apologized and ran out of the room.

"Wait!"

You turned back to him and nodded your head. 

"Go get her."

Without a second thought, he ran out of the room, screaming her name.

"Kanako!"

You hugged yourself as you walked towards the door. _It's our job, as members of the elite host club, to make every girl happy. And my job as the host chef to make every person satisfied with our service._

"Show time."

******

Standing atop the staircase outside in the cool evening air, you all waited patiently for them to come out. Honey was looking over the edge.

"Do you see them yet?"

You shook your head as you adjusted your mic. "Any second now."

And you were right. Not a second later, the figure of Kanako running out onto the gravel came to sight, with Sozushima right behind her. 

"Now?"

"Not yet."

The moment Sozushima grabbed Kanako's hand and forced her to look at him, Tamaki's hand shot up.

"Now!"

3 spotlights came on what at a time and brightly shined down on them. This left them staring up at the crowd of girls surrounding them, and the host club members that stood atop the staircase.

You stepped forward to the mic.

"Ladies and gentlemen. It is now time for us to have the final dance of this evening's festivities. The last waltz of the host club has been chosen for..."

You gestured down to them.

"This couple."

When Kanako realized what was happening, a look of fear came on her face. She stepped back from him as he pulled his hand from hers and closed his eyes. He put out his hand to her and bowed his hand.

"Princess Kasaka...May I have this dance?"

Her eyes widened with terror as a blush came on his cheeks and he looked back up at her.

For a moment, he thought she would refuse, until she softly smiled and put her hand in his.

"...Yes."

The sight of it made a grin spread on your lips as you nodded to the band to start.

 **** _When the rain is blowing in your face_  
And the whole world is on your case  
I could offer you a warm embrace  
To make you feel my love

 **** _When the evening shadows and the stars appear_  
And there is no one there to dry your tears  
Oh, I hold you for a million years  
To make you feel my love

 **** _I know you haven't made your mind up yet_  
But I will never do you wrong  
I've known it from the moment that we met  
No doubt in my mind where you belong

You opened your eyes to see the happy smiles plastered on their face, along with the awe of the twins at your voice as they devoured the banana sundaes from your spread. Though you couldn't laugh, your smile grew larger.

 **** _I'd go hungry; I'd go black and blue_  
And I'd go crawling down the avenue  
No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do  
To make you feel my love

 **** _The storms are raging on the rolling sea_  
And on the highway of regret  
The winds of change are blowing wild and free  
You ain't seen nothing like me yet

 **** _I could make you happy, make your dreams come true_  
There's nothing that I wouldn't do  
Go to the ends of this Earth for you  
To make you feel my love, oh yes  
To make you feel my love

Once you finished your song, the music changed into something more upbeat and Tamaki outstretched his arms.

"Ah! May this awkward couple be forever blessed!"

You signaled the band to lower the music as you placed your hands on the mic.

"An now, we'll announce the Queen of the ball. Congratulations, Princess Kanako Kasakasazaki!"

The audience erupted into applause as the happy couple stopped dancing, yet more shock to register on their faces.

The twins popped up in between you and Tamaki. Hikaru pointed at Tamaki.

"And for her reward, a kiss on the cheek from the king!"

Said person smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. 

"You ready?"

Kaoru poked in between you and Haruhi.

"Haruhi Fujioka will stand in for Tamaki!"

They both froze up with dropped jaws.

You giggled. "Kyoya did say that a little accident towards the end of the night might make the evening more thrilling for everyone."

Haruhi's eyebrow twitched. "There is no way I can kiss her."

Kyoya spoke up from beside you. "If you do it, we'll cut your pay by 1/3rd."

She perked up almost immediately.

"Well, it is just on the cheek, right?"

Everyone watched in anticipation as Haruhi stepped down the stairs and went up to Kanako.

You tapped your chin as a thought came to mind.

"Hm, I wonder if this is Haruhi's first kiss."

Once he heard your comment, Tamaki snapped his neck to you. "What?!"

Just as Haruhi was about to kiss her on the cheek, Tamaki ran down the stairs with his arm outstretched. 

"Wait, Haruhi- !"

Unfortunately, he didn't notice the banana peel on the ground left by one of the twins, and when he tripped on it, instead of falling, his outstretched hand pushed Haruhi closer to Kanako, resulting in a full on kiss on the lips.

Their eyes widened as they quickly pulled away from each other. You quietly laughed at the look on Tamaki's face.

"Not bad for your first event."

You turned to look at Kyoya as his eyes moved on you. "You juggled a total of 5 tasks just for tonight and you accomplished them all flawlessly. Congratulations. How do you feel?"

You shrugged as you smiled widely and glanced at everyone.

"I think I'm gonna like it here."


	6. Beware the Physical Exam!: 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If word gets out that Haruhi’s really a girl, she won’t be able to stay in the Host club. If only that was something you were actually 

_While walking down the dark, empty hall of the large building, you held the object in your arms close to your chest. Your breath was shaky, your eyes wandering everywhere in slight paranoia and your body was stiff, the entire atmosphere felt nerve-racking._

_"There you are, Mei."_

_Hearing the voice address you set alarms in your head as you immediately closed your eyes._

_"Where do you think you're going? You're supposed to be on stage by now."_

_Your lips began to tremble as he approached you, but you refused to open your eyes and only shut them tighter._

_"I...I don't want to go, father. Please don't make me."_

_Each step he took made your heart beat faster and louder._

_"You dare disobey me? Don't turn your back to me, young lady!"_

_Tears began spilling from your tight lids as you began running in the opposite direction._

_"Mei! Get back here right now!"_

_"Mei!_

"Mei!"

With a sharp gasp, your eyes opened up. You shot up from where you had been lying and noticed the twins were right next to you with actual concern on their faces. You began breathing a little heavily as the nightmare was still fresh in your mind.

Their voices synced as they spoke. "Hey butterfly, what's wrong?"

Kaoru knelt down to place a hand on your shoulder. "Are you all right, Mei?"

You unintentionally shrugged his hand away and swung your legs over the bench to sit up fully and put your head in your hands.

"I'm okay...I'm okay...everything is fine."

They looked at each other, growing more concerned as you stood up and grabbed your apron that you had folded up as a pillow on the bench, beginning to tie it around your waist.

Hikaru put his hands on his hips as they watched you walk away.

"What was that all about?"

Kaoru shrugged.

You used your sleeve to wipe the wetness that formed from your eyes off your cheeks. Just as you passed by the table of girls with hosts sitting at every other one, you looked away from them and went for a beeline to the kitchen.

_I'm sorry, father._

Those words echoed within your head and it threatened to make more tears form.

"Mei, there you are."

Your breathing nearly stopped as your feet did at the words he had said.

"I've been looking for you. Here, I need you to hand out these calendars of the hosts to the guests."

You were still frozen in place, but you looked up at him. He had to adjust his glasses to make sure you were looking at him.

"Mei, are you listening?"

You snapped out of your zombie state and glanced down and the stack of calendars in his hands, then you nodded and took them from him.

"Yes, sir. I'll do that."

He hummed, then turned around, but he also stopped to look back at you first.

"By the way, you shouldn't cry like that. It doesn't suit you. Smile more, you look your best when you do."

That comment actually made all previous thoughts leave your head and new ones flood in.

_Did he just say he liked my smile? No, he was just saying that. Right?_

"Oh, and hang some up around the music room to advertise. Sell as many as you can."

You glanced back up and saw that he was walking away and a good distance away towards another table of girls.

Sniffling, you tried to wipe away the sadness from your face and as you turned around, a small smile pulled at your lips.

***********

There wasn't much for you to do today. Honey was attempting to make the guests something to eat, and they did, even though he screwed it up. At every table, there was a Saki bottle and some kind of snap with pitchers of water. All the hosts were busy doing at least something. So...that left you here, sitting up against the tree with your folded arms resting on your bent up knees.

You were looking out at every table, but at no one in particular. You were super bored and felt almost like you weren't needed today.

Your eyes moved over to the little conversation between Tamaki and Haruhi. Though, it was mostly Tamaki and Haruhi just making short comments.

"You noticed! Yes, today my beauty is quite splendorous, I'm in full bloom today. I bet you'll fall for me soon."

Growing more and more less interested, you placed your chin in the palm of your hand as the twins put their arms around Haruhi and turned her away from Tamaki.

"So Haruhi, have you decided the elective courses for this term?"

Kaoru smiled down at her. "How about conversational french?"

She was a bit confused at their sudden appearance, let alone his question.

"I don't know."

Hikaru laughed in amusement. "I think we should take it together. It makes sense."

They both looked behind her at Tamaki, sly smiles on their faces.

"We are all in the same class,"

And that was when Tamaki's face fell and in the blink of an eye, he was sitting down, facing the tree in a huddled position.

"Say, Mommy, dear?"

Kyoya paused writing down in his black book, closed his eyes and smiled.

"What is it now...daddy?"

A part of you cringed as a part of you giggled.  _Daddy? Oh, God._

Tamaki didn't seem to notice or he just didn't care as he narrowed his eyes in thought.

"I have a new theory. I mean, it's just my hypothesis but it seems that by being in the same class, Hikaru and Kaoru are able to spend more time with Haruhi than I get to here at the club. This gives them a chance to get close to her. And if that happens--"

"Tamaki."

He stopped and glanced at you as you were sheepishly smiling at him.

"You just now realized that?"

His eyes widened as he froze up.

Kyoya chuckled and placed down his book as he turned around to face the two of you.

"According to my research, the twins spend roughly nine hours of class time with Haruhi. Meanwhile, your contact with her is limited to a couple hours of club activities. Even Mei spends the most amount of time with her, during the host club, before school, after school, and on the weekends because they're neighbors."

He smiled and shrugged. "In other words, your involvement in Haruhi's life each day amounts to no more than a mere 3 percent. I'm so very sor--"

"Ahhh! I don't wanna hear it, I don't wanna hear it!"

Tamaki had been covering his ears, then shot up and grabbed the collar of Haruhi's yukata.

"Listen up Haruhi, I want you to stop hanging out with those shady twins from now on!"

In the background, the twins popped up, shaking their fists at him.

"Who are you calling shady?"

"Yeah, take a good look at yourself, boss."

You groaned and rolled your eyes as he began ranting about Haruhi turning back into a girl and to be seen as one to the whole school. Growing more tired, you stood up and brushed off your clothes.

"So do it! Change back, now! Change, right now!"

Haruhi's head was nearly about to fall off with how hard he was shaking her.

"You don't need to rush things, you know."

He paused his shaking as everyone's heads turned to you. You crossed your arms over your chest.

"She's going to be found out soon enough. If you all would remember, physical exams  _are_  a day after tomorrow."

Haruhi's eyes widened with curiosity.

"Physical exams?"

Slowly, all eyes turned back to Haruhi.

Kyoya laughed under his breath.

"That's right, I forgot all about it."

She hummed with a finger to her chin.

"Then that means, there's no doubt, they're gonna know...I'm really a girl."

Tamaki and the twins let out a horrified screech as you sighed at them.

******

Your lips were pressed into a thin line as you, Kaoru, and Honey looked down at Tamaki who was largely smiling at the wall.

Honey was actually resting in one of your arms as he held his bunny close.

"He must be having a great day dream!"

Hikaru narrowed his eyes. "A little too great of a dream if you ask me."

Your nose scrunched up. "He's honestly starting to creep me out."

Tamaki's head turned to you, but his sight landed on Hikaru and he smirked.

"Envious, Hikaru? This is all part of my strategy. While you've wasted time blinded by your jealousy, I've foreseen the outcome of this charade."

He spun around and outstretched his arms.

"This anime is obviously a romantic school comedy. Haruhi and I are the main characters so that means we are love interests."

Kyoya smiled to himself as he turned and looked directly at you.

"Perhaps. However, this fan fiction is all about Mei. And because it has a romance pairing, that means one of us will end up with her at the end of this story."

Your eyebrows furrowed once every host began staring at you, even Honey, which made the heat rise to your cheeks.

"T-That's ridiculous."

You rose an eyebrow, cheeks growing more red when Tamaki let out a laugh.

"Precisely. So, in that case, you better not step out of line. We all have our roles, after all."

"Seriously?"

He hummed in curiosity as you frowned back at him, silently call him clueless.

"Look Tamaki, I don't think you understand what this means."

Honey nodded rigorously as he wrapped his arms around your neck and pointed at him.

"If word gets out that Haru-Chan is really a girl, then she won't be able to be in the Host club anymore."

He then tapped his chin in thought, not realizing that Tamaki's soul just broke.

"But if Haru-Chan started wearing girls' clothes, I bet she'd be even cuter than she is now."

Hikaru scratched his chin as he glanced at Kaoru.

"She dressed up like a girl in middle school, right? She must've been pretty popular with the boys."

"Yeah," Kyoya confirmed as he pushed up his glasses. "According to my investigative report, someone would declare his undying love to her at least once a month."

Kaoru rose his eyebrows as he glanced at Tamaki, who was still staring at all of you with dead eyes.

"Oh, I see. So the boss wouldn't even be able to get close to her."

Hikaru darkly chuckled. "But we'd be able to because we have class with her all day long."

Tamaki's eye twitched. "No way!"

The sound of a door creaking open made you look over at the door, where you saw Haruhi's head pop in.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm so late."

She didn't get a chance to even walk in the room due to Tamaki pulling her inside and placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Don't you worry, Haruhi! We're determined to keep your secret. No one will find out that you're really a girl during tomorrow's decisions!"

"...Sure."

You glanced down to the floor, then realized Honey began squirming, so you put him down where he went over to Haruhi and before you knew it, everyone was cooking up some scheme to keep her secret hidden.

And by your own narration, you perked up.

_Speaking of cooking..._

Leaving them to their conniving, you stepped backwards and headed off towards the kitchen. And you didn't realize that the only person who had noticed your behavior was watching you go.

******

As soon as you entered the kitchen, you flicked on the light which lit up the large room one bulb at a time. You scanned the long counter, and saw a number of dishes wrapped in tin foil.

"Oh, yeah. I already made tomorrow's menu."

Sliding your feet forward, you let your hair down and ran a hand through it as you untied the apron wrapped around your waist. Dropping it on the counter, your feet stopped in front of the large doors of the freezer. A small smile pulled as you opened one door up and reached far back until you grabbed hold of the frozen container.

Pulling it close to your chest, you winced at first at how cold it was as you closed the door. Dropping down in your bed slash bench, you popped off the top and had to open up a drawer close by for a big spoon. Then with a sigh, you dug the spoon into the Neapolitan ice cream, pulled out a large bit of it, and wrapped your lips around the spoon.

Almost immediately, when the feeling of the cool ice cream slid down your throat, all your troubles were gone and all that mattered was getting to the bottom of it. You began picking up more and more scoops, happily stuffing your face as the ice cream loving freak you were.

In fact you were enjoying it so much that you didn't even realize someone had entered the kitchen and was standing right in front of you.

Well, not at first. Yet, when you glanced up and saw the black slacks and blue jacket your head shot up and you immediately wiped your mouth free of the treat.

"M-Mori! W-When did you get here?"

A nervous laugh came from you, but he didn't really have a reaction. He just stared down at you with no emotion, until you looked back down and saw Honey fast asleep in his arms.

"Mitsukuni fell asleep. You put him here last time."

You jolted up from your embarrassment as you quickly stood up and placed the tub down on the counter.

"O-Of course, just put him here. He slept fine before."

Without even a glance, he placed him down on the small bed. Honey curled up with his bunny as you slowly put the blanket on him. And with a kiss on the head, you stood back and smiled fondly at him.

However, when you stole a glance at Mori, he was staring at you. You ended up staring right back at him until he pointed at your cheek.

"You missed a spot."

It took you a second to actually realize what he meant, but when you did, you quickly got a towel from the sink and wiped every part of your face, hoping there was none left. Then with an embarrassed sigh, you turned back to see him stroking the sleeping host's cheek. And he was staring at him as his chest slowly rose up and down.

You couldn't really help but smile at the scene.

"I think it's great how much you care for him. Even though he's not family or anything...it's nice to have someone like that."

He slightly turned his head to you, then at the tub again.

"Ice cream."

With another awkward laugh, you snatched the tub off the counter and held it to your chest.

"Um, it's kind of a guilty pleasure. Heh."

He only gave a nod. _Annnd it just got more awkward._

As you drummed your fingers n the tub that was just growing colder and colder, you bit down on your bottom lip and outstretched the tub to him.

"Want some?"

He slowly looked at you again with what you assumed was amusement in his eyes, then he took the tub and using the spoon that was still in it, he took a bite of it.

Shrugging your shoulders, you picked up another big spoon from the drawer and not even a minute later, you were both knelt down on the floor, eating out the entire tub, and listening to Honey's soft snores.

And little did you both know that the person who was watching you stood outside of the room, staring in through the cracked opening of the door. And with a hum of curiosity, he pushed up his glasses.

"Interesting."


End file.
